|
|
DYSLEXIA
In collaboration with the Italian Dyslexia Association
(www.dislessia.it)
What are specific learning difficulties?
Specific Learning Difficulties (SLD), according to data released by
the Italian Dyslexia Association, affects about 8% of school-goers and,
if not dealt with appropriately, can have psychological, social and employment
consequences.
SLD include dyslexia (delayed reading development), dysorthographia (inability
or delay in learning to properly spell words from letters), dysgraphia (delay
or inability in learning to recognize and interpret visual symbols) and dyscalculia
(delay or inability in learning arithmetic facts and operations).
Dyslexia, which is the most known, is the difficulty to read correctly and
fluidly; it can have different levels of severity and is often associated with
the difficulty to write and calculate.
It is important to highlight that SLDs are not caused by perceptive deficits,
nor by environmental, psychological, sensorial or neurological problems. They
are, however, developmental disabilities.
A dyslexic child can read and write, but he or she can do so only by applying
all their skills and energy as it is not automatic for them; for this reason
they tire easily, make errors, fall behind and don't learn.
RETURN TO THE QUESTIONS
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a difficulty that relates to one's capacity to read and
write correctly and fluidly. Reading and writing are normally so easy
and automatic that it can be difficult to understand a dyslexic child's
difficulty in doing so. Unfortunately dyslexia is not widely known in
Italy, despite the fact that it affects at least 1,500,000 people. Dyslexia
is not caused by a lack of intelligence, nor is it related to environmental,
psychological, sensorial or neurological problems.
A dyslexic child can read and write, but he or she can do so only by applying
all their skills and energy as it is not automatic for them. Since they tire
easily, they make errors, fall behind and don't learn. A reading difficulty
can be more or less severe and often accompanies writing and calculation problems.
At times, it can also result from other mental activities. However, these children
are intelligent and usually creative and lively.
RETURN TO THE QUESTIONS
What are the signs of dyslexia?
A dyslexic child can often make errors when reading and writing, such
as by inverting letters and numbers (e.g. 21 - 12) and often mistake
letters (m/n; v/f; b/d). At times, he or she cannot learn tables and
other information in sequences, such as the letters of the alphabet,
the days of the week, the months of the year, etc. He or she may confuse
space and temporal relations (left/right; yesterday/tomorrow; months
and days) and can have difficulties to verbally express what they are
thinking. In some cases, they can have motor difficulties (e.g. fastening
laces), can't make calculations or have attention and concentration deficits.
The child can often develop psychological problems, but this is a consequence
and not the cause of dyslexia.
Slowness and errors while reading also persist after elementary school, obstructing
the comprehension of the significance of a written text. Written work requires
a disproportionate amount of time. A child can appear disorganised, both at
home and at school. He or she has difficulties copying from the blackboard
and taking notes provided orally. At times, he or she can loose confidence
and suffer behavioural changes.
RETURN TO THE QUESTIONS
How can I recognise dyslexia?
Each dyslexic is different. Dyslexia is not monolithic. It is represented
by various characteristics that each dyslexic possesses in more or less
severe measures.
Below we provide a list of traits, behaviours, abilities and perceptive or
developmental difficulties that vary from one dyslexic person to another.
The higher the number of yes answers, the greater the possibility of dyslexia.
In this case, a specialist should be consulted (neuropsychiatrist, psychologist)
who can provide a diagnosis; the Italian Dyslexia Association offers free consultation.
LEARNING STYLES
Learning ability related to the first phases of development was slower
than average (walking, talking, etc.)
The ability to read and write is significantly inferior to intellectual awareness.
The child is frequently reprimanded, accused of acting stupidly or being lazy
or careless, being immature or "not working hard enough".
The child's intelligence is average or above average, yet performance in school
is low, especially in writing.
The child feels stupid, has low self-esteem and tends to disguise his or her
weaknesses.
There is a tendency to excel in art, engineering, mechanics, construction,
administration, sales, music, design and sport.
There is a difficulty in focusing attention; he or she seems hyperactive.
The child finds it difficult to concentrate and is very lively.
Oral exams go well, but results are poor in written exams.
The child learns quickly through observation, demonstration, experimentation
and other visual aids.
He or she is good at putting abstract ideas into practice.
The child daydreams a lot; he or she drifts easily into their thoughts; he
or she loses any concept of time.
READING, WRITING AND LINGUISTIC ABILITIES
The child is a very slow reader.
He or she can read fairly quickly, but has no sense of what was read.
The child will never read for pleasure.
He or she can become distracted by "drawings" in the written text
or complain that the words jump off the page.
Reading is poor and in a loud voice.
When reading and writing the child can repeat, transpose, add, omit, replace
or invert letters, words or numbers.
Reading may cause headache, dizziness or sickness.
Some letters, numbers or words are confused and there is a tendency to invert
them.
The child doesn't remember lists (names, things, numbers, etc.) especially
when in sequence.
He or she is easily confused by long verbal explanations, especially when in
sequence.
He or she expresses ideas with difficulty.
When reading and/or writing there is a tendency to repeat syllables, words
or even entire sentences. At times he or she reads or writes backwards or some
words are skipped.
He or she can forget the central part of the sentence or what has just been
read.
Spelling correctly is difficult.
The child is easily distracted by noise.
He or she misunderstands what is heard.
The child has difficulty expressing his or her thoughts.
Long words can be pronounced incorrectly or words and sentences can be transposed
when speaking.
SIGHT
While reading the child may complain about moving sensations or seeing
the words moving or distorted.
The child can see things on a page that aren't there.
The child has visual difficulties that standard tests may not reveal.
He or she finds it difficult to see things correctly.
LATERALITY
The child can have difficulty completing tasks that involve motor abilities.
He or she finds it hard to copy or summarize correctly.
Writing is at times illegible.
The child cannot read his or her own writing.
Writing continually varies from legible to illegible.
The child holds a pen in an unusual manner.
The child is ambidextrous.
He or she appears to lack coordination and clumsy when playing games or sport.
He or she often confuses left and right and up and down.
TIME
The child has a poor sense of time, self-management or punctuality.
MATHS
The child uses his or her fingers to count.
He or she can count well, but have difficulty counting objects.
Money is poorly managed.
He or she is good at arithmetic, but not with tests that involve language.
The child has problems grasping concepts of algebra or calculations.
MEMORY
Short term memory problems arise.
Generally the child has an excellent long term memory.
The child has problems memorising information structured in sequence.
The child thinks in images and doesn't use internal dialogue.
BEHAVIOUR
The child is very frustrated.
He or she can be disorganised and crave attention.
In reality, he or she is more behind in school that what it seems.
In class he or she disturbs the class, acts the fool or is too calm.
He or she is emotional or worried about problems in school, in reading, writing
and maths.
The child can suffer from allergies.
He or she can have a very high or low pain barrier.
He or she has a good sense of "fair play" and justice.
He or she is hypersensitive, emotional or aspires to perfection.
RETURN TO THE QUESTIONS
How can it be treated?
When someone (parent or teacher) thinks they are dealing with a dyslexic
child, it is important that the child is diagnosed as soon as possible.
The diagnosis must be carried out by specialists using specific test methods.
The diagnosis allows you to understand what is happening and how to avoid the
most common errors, such as blaming the child ("you don't learn because
you don't work hard enough") or attributing the reason to psychological
problems, errors which cause suffering, frustration and, at times, irreparable
damage.
When the diagnosis is given, you can enable specific aids, rehabilitation or
compensation techniques, as well as simple measures such as granting longer
periods of time to complete exercises, the use of a calculator or computer.
Dyslexics have a different way of learning, but they do learn.
It is not always easy to find someone who can identify the problem; it is advisable
to consult professionals who deal with this issue (child neuropsychiatrists,
psychologists, speech therapists).
RETURN TO THE QUESTIONS
Who should I contact?
The professionals involved in the assessment of Specific Learning Disorders
are:
child neuropsychiatrists or neurologists for neurological examinations, child
psychiatrists, psychologists or neuropsychologists to assess intellectual efficiency,
psychologists for psycho-diagnostic assessments and personality assessments,
psychologists, neuropsychologists, speech therapists and psychopedagogues for
specific examinations.
The diagnostic procedure includes:
- a first welcome visit, case history and assessment
of problems,
- neurological visit and psychological assessment,
- application of standard A protocol to assess dyslexia,
- drafting of inclusion/exclusion diagnosis criteria
for dyslexia,
- application of B protocol to draft the profile
and rehabilitation project.
RETURN TO THE QUESTIONS
What does the law say?
The problem of protecting the rights of those who suffer from dyslexia
is particularly complex and open to different solutions. Currently, there
is no specific legislation and the Italian Dyslexia Association presented
a series of legal proposals to regulate the requests by schools in relation
to dyslexic students, to define limitations and possible aids.
You can however refer to the following articles covered by current legislation:
Law no. 517/77 art. 2 - national school: activities organised for groups of
pupils from the same or different class;
Law no. 517/77 art. 7 - secondary school: periodic scholastic activities to
replace normal activities for a maximum of 160 hours at the beginning or end
of the year, based on an integration and support programme indicated by the
school board and class councils;
Law no. 59/97 art. 21: educational independence aiming towards the right to
learn;
D.P.R no. 275/99: the recognition and development of diversity, promote everyone's
potential, implement useful initiatives to achieve a successful education;
regulation of teaching time and the development of disciplines in the most
appropriate means possible to suit learning ability, being flexible, for example
to allow for each individual's learning pace;
recovery and support initiatives;
Law no. 104/92 art. 13 -scholastic integration: scholastic integration also
develops by implementing technical equipment and educational aids;
Law 104/92 - the assessment of performance and examinations: Ministerial Order
currently regulating grades and examinations only covers particular conditions
for students certified according to Law 104/92.
For secondary schools, the possibility exists to have recovery courses for
students who need them, but teachers are not obliged to give them, the school
is not obliged to organise them and students are not obliged to attend. In
case of failure, the school must however demonstrate that it provided extra
assistance to the student.
RETURN TO THE QUESTIONS
The Italian Dyslexia Association
The Italian Dyslexia Association has three objectives: to sensitise
the professionals, teachers and public opinion to the problem of dyslexia;
to promote research and training within different intervention environments:
health, rehabilitation and school services, offer users an expert reference
point to obtain information and help in consultancy and assistance in
the identification of the problem or rehabilitation and scholastic approach.
There are about 1,500,000 dyslexics in Italy according to most precise estimates.
The majority of these people were unsuccessful in school, some leaving early
with social and professional consequences, of which some were very serious.
The stories told of dyslexic children who are now adults highlights the frustration
caused due to non-diagnosis of the problem. Since childhood these people have
found themselves in a world of unexpected, unexplainable difficulty and were
generally blamed by the adults around them (teachers and parents) who complained
that they did not work hard enough or had poor results, compared to normal
social and perceptive abilities.
The Italian Dyslexia Association intends to combat these difficulties, cooperating
with institutions and services involved in the development and education of
children.
The association, which is open to specialists (doctors, psychologists, speech
therapists), teachers and parents is divided into three committees that represent
areas in which intervention is required. Scientific Committee: a group of partners
who work with dyslexia or learning disorders in general. Their main aim is
to promote the training of diagnostic staff in an early identification and
re-education of dyslexia; the diffusion of standard diagnostic approaches that
follow identification criteria found in diagnostic manuals and confirmed by
scientific research; the promotion of research and scientific activities to
encourage awareness of the disorder. School Committee: unites teachers and
instructors with the aim of promoting the development of educational tools
and operational methods that correspond to the needs of children affected by
dyslexia. Dyslexic children at school today receive no help or are certified
and follow the same process of children with handicaps, with a support teacher
who follows them through some of their schooling. In the majority of these
cases, this intervention causes the child and its family to be rejected which
leads to even more serious problems. The association intends promoting all
activities which would support teachers, to cooperate with the school authorities
to introduce computer aids in schools to arrive to a point where schools would
have specialised teachers capable of effectively working with dyslexic children.
Social Issues Committee: unites parents and children with dyslexia and adult
dyslexics. The association wishes to provide families with assistance to find
answers to their problems, both on a diagnostic level and in relation to school
and rehabilitation assistance. It also intends dealing with social and employment
insertion problems of adults who encounter difficulty caused by their reading
and writing problems.
RETURN TO THE QUESTIONS
Italian Dyslexia Association
Via Testoni 1
40123 Bologna Italy
Tel. +39 051-270578
Fax +39 051-274784
e-mail: info@dislessia.it
www.dislessia.it
RETURN TO THE QUESTIONS
|
